Adaptive system for
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PEDESTRIAN sensING

Overview of the barrier-based pedestrian counting approach, its enabling technologies, and practical rationale for its use.

Rationale

Accurate pedestrian counting is essential in many contexts where knowing how people move through a space matters more than simply knowing how many are present. Examples include entrances to buildings, narrow pathways, trails in protected areas, libraries, museums, or access points to sensitive environments. In these locations, monitoring must be reliable, energy-efficient, and respectful of privacy, while often operating with limited infrastructure.

Traditional solutions such as cameras or advanced depth sensors can provide high accuracy, but they are costly, energy-intensive, and frequently raise privacy concerns. Simpler sensors, on the other hand, often lack directional awareness or precision. The Barrier Sensor was developed to bridge this gap by offering a low-cost, privacy-preserving, and energy-aware solution capable of accurately counting pedestrian flows in real-world conditions, including remote or temporary deployments.

In a nutshell

The Barrier Sensor is a compact pedestrian counting device designed to register crossings and movement direction at specific passage points in real time. It combines passive and active infrared technologies to achieve accurate counting while keeping energy consumption low, critical in remote areas with limited energy supply. The sensor operates autonomously, can be deployed indoors or outdoors, and communicates using the most conveniente available network connectivity, making it suitable for both permanent installations and temporary events.

Available Technologies

Pedestrian counting can be achieved using a wide range of technologies, each involving different trade-offs. Camera-based systems and depth sensors offer high precision but come with higher costs, increased power consumption, and privacy implications. Simpler approaches, such as passive infrared sensors or pressure mats, are more energy-efficient and affordable, but typically provide limited accuracy or directional information.

The Barrier Sensor adopts a hybrid approach that combines the strengths of passive infrared (PIR) and active infrared (AIR) detectors. Passive sensors continuously monitor for motion with minimal power usage, while active infrared beams, on-device processing, and communication are only activated when needed to accurately detect and transmit crossings and movement direction. This design achieves a balanced solution in terms of accuracy, privacy, cost, and energy efficiency.

Simplified Deployment

To reduce deployment complexity, the Barrier Sensor is designed as a self-contained and adaptable unit. It can operate on battery power, automatically select between Wi-Fi and LoRaWAN connectivity depending on local conditions, and transmit only minimal data, such as counts and directions, ensuring robustness even in constrained environments.

The system integrates seamlessly with a backend platform that aggregates data and presents it through intuitive dashboards. This allows authorities to deploy, operate, and interpret pedestrian flow data without requiring specialized expertise. By packaging hardware, software, and deployment guidelines into a single solution, the Barrier Sensor makes pedestrian monitoring practical, scalable, and easy to adopt in everyday operational contexts.

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